Medical information systems such as Radiology Management Information Systems (RIS), Picture Archiving and Communications (PACS) and Hospital Information Systems (HIS) will soon be standard tools to support routine work in hospitals. An interface between PACS/RIS and RIS/HIS is increasingly necessary in order to co-ordinate the flow of information throughout these systems. This book discusses a systematic analysis of interfacing strategies. An introduction is given to the status of present radiology departments and trends for the future. Then, to define a PACS-RIS interface in a multivendor environment, the so-called Marburg Model is described: a comprehensive systems analysis method that includes the requirements of radiologists, software and hardware engineers, and medical informatitians. A detailed PACS-RIS interface for a specific systems implementation is derived using the Marburg Model, which can be used as a standardized approach to designing interfaces.
